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European Parliament confirms the role of sustainable trophy hunting

12 Jul 2016

This morning MEPs expressed support for the EU’s proposal to have international guidelines on trade and traceability in hunting trophies. At the same time they rejected a proposal to call for a ban on trophy hunting and to ban the sale of hunting trophies.

The European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) adopted a draft resolution on the EU’s strategic objectives for a major international conference on global wildlife trade, which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 24 September to 5 October.

MEPs expressed support for the EU’s proposal seeking to provide further reassurances that trophy hunting is subject to sufficient control in terms of sustainability and legality. Importantly, this proposal, which was backed by MEPs this morning, recognises that ”well-managed and sustainable trophy hunting is an important conservation tool which provides both livelihood opportunities for rural communities and incentives for habitat conservation, and generate profits which can be invested for conservation purposes”.

MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz, President of the Intergroup Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside commented that “sustainable and legal trophy hunting is secured. MEPs also adopted amendments highlighting the role of local communities who will continue to be part of the decision making process and benefit from wildlife management”.

“We would like to thank the MEPs who supported well-managed and sustainable trophy hunting as a tool for wildlife conservation and for having rejected unfounded attempts to ban this practice. The hunting and conservation community owes a particular thanks to the President of the Parliament’s Intergroup Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside, MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz as well as MEP Norbert Lins who were both instrumental in gathering the necessary support for a wise and balanced approach in the committee”, says Johan Svalby, Director of Legal and Public Affairs at FACE.

The draft resolution text, which was adopted unanimously by the Environment Committee, will be subject to a final vote in Plenary, scheduled for September.